A Hindu jeweller's body was recovered from a blue plastic drum found floating near a sluice gate in Mymensingh district of Bangladesh. Police suspect the jeweller was killed before his body was disposed in the drum and dumped in the water.
Identified as Niranjan Chandra Sutradhar, 50, the jeweller was running a shop in the Atharbari Building area in Mymensingh. His identity was ascertained through a token issued by the Mymensingh Hindu Cooperative Credit Union Ltd, recovered from his trousers pocket.
Several injuries were found on the body of the jeweller, leading police to suspect murder.
Sutradhar was residing in a rented house with his wife Sumita Rani Sutradhar and son Joy Sutradhar in Stadium area in Mymensingh. He did not return after leaving home on September 20. However, a nephew reportedly saw him in Stadium area the next day.
Police said the victim had stayed away from home for several days in the past. Hence, the family did not file a missing case initially.
While there have been violence against Hindus and other religious minorities in Bangladesh, there is no confirmation regarding the death of Sutradhar being linked to such a motive.
Hindus make around 8 per cent, or 13.1 million people of Bangladesh's 170 million population. The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, an umbrella group representing minority communities, says it documented more than 2,000 incidents of communal violence since the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a mass uprising in August 2024. However, such incidents have reportedly plunged after Tarique Rahman came to power.
One of the most shocking incidents was the mob lynching of Dipu Chandra Das, a 27-year-old Hindu garment worker who was beaten to death after he was accused by Muslim colleagues of making derogatory remarks about Propher Muhammad. His body was hung from a tree and set on fire.
